NanoPlasmonics, Microphotonics & Imaging

Successful treatment of cancer requires targeted and individualized treatment, and subsequently an assessment of the state of the tumor being examined, both gross and microscopic, however oncologists have no method of identifying microscopic tumor in the patient. This results in tumor cells being left behind in patients undergoing surgery. Currently, the only way to determine the presence of any microscopic residual is to examine the excised tumor, stained with a proper marker, under a microscope, which only adds to the complexity and length of the surgery and treatment. The two current...

Here we present a novel method for fabricating large, ordered arrays of 3D nanocups for plasmonic applications. Previously, it has been demonstrated that nanocups provide a unique method for bending scattered light by creating “magnetic plasmon” responses in optical frequencies. However, creating large, ordered arrays of nanocups has remained a significant challenge. We constructed a large (0.5 cm X 1.0 cm), ordered array of nanocups via nanoimprint lithography (NIL), soft lithography, and shadow evaporation. This methodology enables high control over the shapes and optical...

Semiconductor nanocavities are of interest for their potential as threshold-less lasers and high-speed modulated sources. When cavity volumes are shrunk below the size of a cubic wavelength, the rate of spontaneous emission can be enhanced. This so-called Purcell enhancement has lead to the misconception that the modulation speed of nanocavity lasers can be significantly enhanced beyond that of their classical (large volume) counterparts. Here, by performing a detailed analysis, we show that the modulation bandwidth can, indeed, be increased by the Purcell effect, but that this...

This project has demonstrated piston and tip/tilt actuation of an array of 500-750 µm-radius hexagonal mirrors with fill factors exceeding 98%. The mirrors will actuate above the substrate in a piston motion over a range of greater than 5 µm for astronomy applications and over 20 µm for vision science applications. Tip/tilt rotations of about a degree are also required. The frequency response must exceed 4 kHz for astronomy and 100 Hz for vision science. Finally, a scalable interconnect will be investigated that will connect from hundreds to thousands of mirror segments....